About Me

Transformational and Leadership Coach · IFS Practitioner · Group Facilitator · Peacebuilder · Eternal Learner · Mother

  • " I would recommend Elisa to anyone who feels that there might be things that are getting in the way of being the kind of leader you want to be - and committing to the long haul. It’s worth it."

    Female nonprofit executive working in community engagement and capacity building

  • "Elisa helped me in asking myself difficult questions and she guided me on how to dig deep and find those answers. She taught me how to deal with and accept difficult emotions and realisations."

    Reeman - Senior Manager, International Development Sector

  • "As a mentor, Elisa is very knowledgeable, patient, attentive, and caring. I really valued the structure she brought to our sessions and the breadth of resources shared throughout."

    Racha - Senior Director, UK Charity

  • "Elisa’s holistic approach to coaching has improved my professional life, but it has also improved my relationship with myself and my family outside of work. I have found that Elisa has a unique ability to meet me where I’m at, but also invite me to work towards something else. She doesn’t let me get away with anything, but she also shows a tremendous amount of grace. That blend has made it possible for me to explore my own internal reactions, set aside responses that aren’t helpful, and get overrun by emotions less and less. I feel more centered and more equipped to handle difficult things. "

    Female nonprofit executive working in community engagement and capacity building

  • "Elisa has shown me how to live intentionally, recognize patterns, and choose self-compassion. This journey has helped me understand how I lead my life and the choices I make, enabling me to rest in a place of groundedness. As a result, I am now more comfortable recognizing and accessing my true self and making authentic choices, significantly improving both my personal and professional life."

    Aida

Before becoming a coach and IFS practitioner I spent many years in senior roles in the international-development sector, specifically in peacebuilding. 

I worked alongside incredibly dedicated people who wanted to bring positive change to their communities, societies and the world. In time, however, I came to realise just how little support these incredibly brave individuals were getting; not only to cope with the challenges and stress of such a complex and often personal endeavour, but also to undertake their own journeys of change and transformation.

At the same time I was trying to come to terms with my own issues around leadership and what kind of leader I wanted to be - particularly as a woman. 

I felt like I was wearing somebody else’s clothes and they just didn’t fit. I was feeling often drained, constantly double guessing myself, taking on the responsibilities for everything and everyone and struggling to set and keep healthy boundaries.

I wanted to show up with my full self so that I could encourage others in my team to do the same but I just didn’t know how, as I felt I needed to shut down whole parts of myself in order to fit into the “leader” suit. I ended up very lost and confused about who I was, who I wanted to be and how to live by it. I could see this all around me in the international development sector at large, within the women in leadership roles.

Finding my own path has not been an easy journey, but it has been the most rewarding one.

I was supported along the way by coaching, mentoring and therapy and through this an idea was born. I still feel a peacebuilder at heart but I know that for change to happen at the scale that we need it we need to start from the inside out - we need to start with us. Us as individuals and us as women.

Because as long as we continue to try and fit into someone else’s understanding of what it means to lead we will never be able to show up in our wholeness and utilise our full potential in the service of a more inclusive, just and healthy world. 

Then I became a mother and a whole other world opened up for me. 

As for many women this experience shattered my sense of identity almost completely and took me by surprise. I was utterly unprepared for the immensity of the change and how it touched every single aspect of my life.

I saw in my clients, in my friends and former colleagues the same struggles. What used to work didn’t anymore, their priorities had changed and they didn’t know how to make the old life fit into their new reality. Most of them, of us, had no language for it, had no place to bring this to, no community supporting them through this.

Yes, mothers get together to talk about breastfeeding and what type of yoga works best,  or how to help their children sleep more (a dream we never seem to realise!)....

That’s important, but rarely do we dive deeper into what we are really facing, and as a result, still feel very alone and often lost. This has a cost for our children, our families and as a result, our communities and societies. We all want to be the best mother we can be, but it’s very hard to mother consciously from this place, as I had to learn the hard way. I started to put together the pieces of myself thanks to the work of Kimberly Ann Johnson and decided to put my skills at the service of mothers. Firstly as a coach and IFS practitioner accompanying mothers and expecting mothers through their mothering journey, and now also as MotherCircle facilitator. 

Because there’s nothing more powerful than sharing and being witnessed by other mothers in my own scars, pains, hopes and struggles. 

In the last 6 years I’ve trained in coaching, IFS therapy and somatic and nervous system practices - the same modalities that have supported me (and still do) along the way - so that I can meet you where you are and follow the flow of your needs through the different phases of your journey of self discovery and growth. Just as importantly, I have experienced first-hand, and continue to practice, everything I communicate to clients.  I also stay updated with the latest understandings of trauma and trauma resolution techniques so that my overall approach is trauma informed.

Please feel free to get in contact with me regarding any of the support that I can offer you.

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